Biography
Marking thirty years of transformative music-making the GRAMMY®-winning and four-time nominated Imani Winds is a groundbreaking force in chamber music, where virtuosity, imagination, cultural connection, and an expansive vision of the art form converge. Their adventurous programming includes traditional and contemporary repertoire, bringing core chamber works into dialogue with reimagined arrangements and new commissions by renowned and emerging composers.
Imani Winds’ latest album, Rise, released on Imani Winds Media in 2026, explores the juxtaposition of injustice and liberation while celebrating the resilience and strength of communities who have faced systemic adversity. The album features a commissioned work by Shawn Okpebholo alongside soul classics by Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, arranged by Imani Winds’ own clarinetist, Mark Dover. “I Care If You Listen” says, “the groups’ remarkable skill waxes on…with the ecstatic vibe of an improvised praise break...”.
BeLonging, a concert program and collaborative album with composer and steel pan virtuoso Andy Akiho, confronts the realities of mass incarceration and earned a 2025 GRAMMY® nomination. Both Rise and BeLonging are part of Imani Winds’ longstanding Legacy Commissioning Project, which encompasses dozens of new works and reflects the ensemble’s commitment to expanding the wind quintet repertoire.
The 2026–27 season continues that spirit of exploration, featuring collaborations and world premieres with the dynamic vocal ensemble Cantus, pianist and composer Stewart Goodyear, alongside a new work by composer Andromeda Smith, a recent alum of the acclaimed Luna Composition Lab.
Imani Winds regularly appears on major chamber music series and at leading venues, performing arts centers, and summer festivals around the US. Following recent performances in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai, the ensemble’s international reach extends across Asia, Europe, South America, Australia, and New Zealand.
Education and mentorship are central to Imani Winds’ mission. In 2021, they became Curtis Institute of Music’s first-ever Faculty Wind Quintet, extending their influence into one of the country’s leading conservatories. They also regularly lead residencies, masterclasses, and educational programs nationwide, reaching thousands of students of all ages each year.
Beyond the concert stage, Imani Winds has built an ecosystem of institutions designed to nurture artists and expand access to the field. In 2010, they founded the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, a distinguished summer program that prepares the next generation of instrumentalists and composers through musical AND entrepreneurial training. In 2019, they established the Imani Winds Foundation, deepening their commitment to artistic development, education, and community engagement. Their vision expanded further with Imani Winds Media, a boutique record label dedicated to spotlighting distinctive and independent artists. Its first release, Jeff Scott’s Passion for Bach and Coltrane, won the 2024 GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Compendium.
Imani Winds’ connection to jazz and improvised music has been central to their artistic identity, reflected in collaborations with legends including Wayne Shorter, Paquito D’Rivera, and Jason Moran. Their multidisciplinary project Josephine Baker: A Life of Le Jazz Hot!, featuring jazz vocalist René Marie, brought together chamber music, jazz, film, and dance, and received acclaim in cities across the United States. Their 2021 album Bruits, earned a 2022 GRAMMY® nomination for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.
Across three decades, Imani Winds’ have appeared on Koch, E1, Naxos, Blue Note, Warner Classics, Bright Shiny Things and their own Imani Winds Media label, encompassing landmark projects from their historic arrangement of The Rite of Spring to their 2006 GRAMMY®-nominated album The Classical Underground.
Among their most meaningful honors is a permanent installation in the classical music section of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, a fitting recognition of an ensemble whose three-decade journey has not only expanded the possibilities of the wind quintet, but helped shape the evolving landscape of American music.
09/2026 Updated
Musicians
